Effect of Processing Parameters on Magnetron Sputtering Preparation of High-quality Ni5Pt Films for Schottky Diodes

doi:10.11901/1005.3093.2025.324

Chinese Journal of Materials Research

2026, Vol. 40

Issue (8): 613-623 DOI: 10.11901/1005.3093.2025.324

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Effect of Processing Parameters on Magnetron Sputtering Preparation of High-quality Ni5Pt Films for Schottky Diodes

ZHANG Mingyuan¹^,², WEN Ming³, LI Sixie³, ZHANG Bin⁴, ZHANG Guangping²(

)

^1.School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Shenyang 110016, China
^2.National Engineering Research Center for High Performance Homogenized Alloys, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
^3.State Key Laboratory of Precious Metal Functional Materials, Kunming Institute of Precious Metals, Kunming 650106, China
^4.Key Laboratory for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China

Cite this article:

ZHANG Mingyuan, WEN Ming, LI Sixie, ZHANG Bin, ZHANG Guangping. Effect of Processing Parameters on Magnetron Sputtering Preparation of High-quality Ni5Pt Films for Schottky Diodes. Chinese Journal of Materials Research, 2026, 40(8): 613-623.

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Abstract

With the rapid development of ultra-high-speed and low-power Schottky barrier diode (SBD), the height and stability of the Schottky barrier have become a critical factor driving the continued evolution of the electronic and information technology industry. However, challenges such as uncontrollable surface quality, crack formation, and a lack of theoretical guidance for process optimization limit practical applications. Herein, Ni5Pt alloy films were prepared on substrates of single crystal Si with orientations of (100) and (111) respectively via magnetron sputtering technique by varying the substrate temperature and deposition time. The influence of sputtering parameters on the microstructure and surface morphology of the acquired films was characterized, while the mechanism related to the cracking failure of the films was postulated. Results reveal that the growth mechanism of Ni5Pt conforms to Stranski-Krastanov (SK) model. Surface roughness of films increases with the increasing deposition time and the decreasing substrate temperature, besides, which also depends on the crystallographic orientation of the basal plane of substrates. A cracking criterion based on residual stress was proposed, thereafter, the optimal sputtering parameters were established. The findings provide not only an important theoretical guidance for obtaining a Schottky barrier layer with good interface continuity and high barrier stability, but also a meaningful reference for the R & D of high-performance Schottky barrier diode devices in the future.

Key words: metallic materials Ni5Pt film surface roughness residual stress magnetron sputtering Schottky barrier diode

Received: 03 November 2025

ZTFLH:

O484

Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(U25A20218);Scientific and Technological Project of Yunnan Province(202305AF150171)

Corresponding Authors: ZHANG Guangping, Tel: (024)23971938, E-mail: gpzhang@imr.ac.cn

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	ZHANG Mingyuan
	WEN Ming
	LI Sixie
	ZHANG Bin
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https://www.cjmr.org/EN/10.11901/1005.3093.2025.324 OR https://www.cjmr.org/EN/Y2026/V40/I8/613

Table 1 Codes and nomenclature of Ni5Pt film

Fig.1 SEM images of Ni5Pt films deposited on Si(100) substrates at room temperature (a-e), 50 ^oC (f-j), and 100 ^oC (k-o) with varying sputtering time of 1 min (a, f, k), 5 min (b, g, l), 10 min (c, h, m), 15 min (d, i, n), and 30 min (e, j, o)

Fig.2 Crack density of Ni5Pt films deposited at three different substrate temperatures with varying sputtering time

Fig.3 XRD patterns of Ni5Pt films deposited with different sputtering time on Si(100) (a-c) and Si(111) (d-f) substrates at room temperature (a, d), 50 ^oC (b, e), and 100 ^oC (c, f)

Fig.4 Bright field TEM images (a, b) and HRTEM images (c, d) of Si(100)-RT1M (a, c) and Si(111)-RT1M (b, d), and corresponding grain size distribution (e), the insets are the fast FFT patterns

Fig.5 AFM observations of Ni5Pt films deposited on Si(100) substrates at room temperature (a-e), 50 ^oC (f-j), and 100 ^oC (k-o) with varying sputtering time of 1 min (a, f, k), 5 min (b, g, l), 10 min (c, h, m), 15 min (d, i, n), and 30 min (e, j, o)

Fig.6 Thickness of Ni5Pt films at three substrate temperatures with different sputtering time

Fig.7 Variation of surface roughness with Ni5Pt film thickness (a) and variation of the roughness exponent α with deposition temperature (b)

Fig.8 Relationship between residual stress and fracture strength calculated by Griffith criterion with thickness for Ni5Pt films (a) and intersection map of residual stress and the fracture strength (b) (Dashed line represents the fracture strength, the solid line represents residual stress and since the sputtering rates of films deposited at different temperatures vary, the fracture strength also shows slight differences. Here, only the fracture strength corresponding to a sputtering rate of 8.50 nm/min is provided for illustration)

Table 2 Critical thickness and critical sputtering time for fracture of Ni5Pt films

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